Services

Services

Wellness Visits and Preventative Medicine
Our focus at Mill Bay Veterinary Hospital is to help prevent disease and illness in your family’s pets. Through annual physical examinations we can pursue our goal of helping you minimize the need to treat preventable diseases. Preventative medicine increases your pet’s chances of having a long and healthy life. We accomplish this through routine annual physical examinations of your pet, proper nutrition, parasite control and through the use of a vaccination program based on an individualized risk assessment for your pet. Annual blood work is also recommended to establish baselines for your pet and to track their wellness over their lifespan.

Physical Examinations
A thorough physical examination allows us to identify issues before they develop into larger health problems. Palpation of your pet from head to toe gives us the opportunity to locate not only unwanted guests but allows us to feel internal organs that may be abnormally enlarged, or other concerning abnormalities. Touch is the most developed tool in our arsenal of diagnostic instruments. Naturally we do recommend having blood work processed yearly, similar to what your own doctor recommends, as this also provides us with valuable information that can only be retrieved through in-depth analysis.

Radiology
In-house X-Ray equipment aids us in quickly assessing any physical injury or anomaly that may be affecting you pet’s wellbeing. We can then rapidly determine the appropriate course of action, be it medical and/or surgical. In more involved cases we are able to email the pictures to a North America wide referral radiology consultation service and get expert recommendations within 24 hours.

Medical Diagnostics
Some conditions and emergencies require immediate answers. We have a variety of sophisticated lab machines that we can use. We can do a Complete Blood Cell Count using our CBC machine. This can tell us information about the number and types of cells in the blood. Many conditions alter these from normal. We can also do a variety of “chemistry” panels that can tell us if some of the major organs in the body are affected by a condition. We do some cytology (examining cells in the microscope) where we can take small amount of tissue, exudates (pus), discharges (ears), and put them on a slide. After staining the cells and looking under the microscope, we can often isolate the problem. While in-house lab is convenient and quick, it is does not always give as in depth an analysis as we would like. Our outside lab partner IDDEXX offers much more complete panels and most results are returned in 24 hours.

Hospitalized Treatment
If it is determined that your pet is required to stay overnight we have a variety of comfortable options. Large dog runs with rubber mats provide ample room for our larger patients (as well as the occasional calf, sheep or goat!) Smaller dogs lie on blankets in our bright treatment area where we can keep an eye on them. There is a separate quiet feline ward for cats who would prefer not to be too close to a barking dog. When your pet requires Intravenous fluid therapy, we have IV pumps set up in order to supply an appropriate amount of fluids and medications for each animal, regardless of size.

Emergency & Urgent Care
We have veterinarians and personnel in the clinic 6 days a week who are trained and equipped to handle any urgent care your pet needs. Emergencies can be things such a poisoning, hit by car, seizures, lacerations or bites, and chocolate ingestion. If you ever feel that your pet needs emergency treatment do not hesitate to call immediately. We understand that emergencies can arise at any time. We have a veterinarian on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have an emergency during the hours that we are closed, please call our regular hospital number and leave a message stating your name, telephone number and nature of the problem and the current on-call veterinarian will return your call.

We are also available for urgent care when the condition is not life-threatening, but you feel your pet needs to be seen before you are able to get an appointment. Our veterinarians will work with you to “squeeze” you in between scheduled appointments. When you arrive, our receptionists will be able to give you an estimate on how long you may have to wait in order to be seen.

Surgery
We perform a variety of both elective and non-elective surgeries. Elective surgeries such as spaying and neutering are important not only to control pet over population but also to make our pets happier companions. We also do a variety of complex non-elective soft tissue and orthopedic procedures as needed for our patients.
All surgeries are done under sterile conditions in our specially designed surgical suite. We make sure that pain is addressed before, during, and after each procedure. All our patients are monitored very carefully using sophisticated equipment such as ECG (to assess the heart), and Doppler (to measure blood pressure) and pulse oximeter (to measure oxygenation and heart rate) and Registered Animal Health Technicians who are constantly monitoring your pet’s anesthetic to ensure that each surgical procedure is as safe as possible. All our patients are kept warm using water heated blankets. Pets go home with written discharge instruction after all our surgeries and procedures.

Pain Management
We are always concerned about our patients and the pain they might perceive after a procedure. Pain has been linked to poor wound healing, immune suppression, inappetance, and other problems. Each pet, just like each person, responds to pain very individually. We use a variety of approaches to control pain called “multi-modal”. As veterinarians and therefore advocates of animals, we have a special interest in making sure our patients experience the least pain possible. Here are some signs of pain in pets.
Signs That Your Pet May Be in Pain

Abnormal Posture

Hunched up or praying position. Sitting or lying in an abnormal position. Not resting normally but restless and moving frequently. Head hung low

Abnormal Walking: Stiff or slow to rise. Limping or partial weight bearing. Unable or unwilling to get up. Abnormal Movement. Thrashing/restlessness. Trembling/shaking. No movement while awake
Appetite: Lack of appetite. Difficulty eating or chewing
Vocalization: Crying or whining. Not as vocal if that is normal
General: Hiding or becoming very clingy. Lethargy or Depression. Aggressive/growling/biting/ears back. Not sleeping . Not urinating or defecating normally

Dentistry
Dental disease is very common in cats and dogs. We do routine dental work such as cleaning, polishing and extractions by appointment. We know that dental disease such as gingivitis and tarter build up causes extreme pain and discomfort along with increased risk of infection to other internal organs. Much of the tartar can be underneath the gumline and requires ultrasonic cleaning and polishing to decrease the gingivitis. For their comfort and safety pets are aneaesthetized for dental procedures so that we can properly examine and clean below the gum line. A few non-veterinary and un-licensed individuals will scale the teeth without anesthesia but this will not get rid of the gingivitis or disease under the gums. Extractions of diseased, broken, loose, or infected teeth are often necessary and cannot be adequately determined before anesthesia and initial cleaning. These extractions are critical for maintaining overall health and comfort. A pre-dentistry examination is recommended before any dental surgery in order to determine what needs to be done and also to evaluate your pet’s surgical health.

Anaesthesia
Due to advances anesthesia is much different today. It is “balanced” meaning it is much safer and the recovery is much quicker. The advances in anesthesia and surgery have made most procedures quite safe, with a low rate of complications. However, occasional problems can arise if the veterinarian is not aware of the pre-existing conditions which may not be evident during the pre-surgical examination and diagnostic testing. We recommend that every pet undergoing general anesthesia have baseline lab testing. This does not guarantee the absence of complications; however, it will greatly reduce the risk of complications

Ultrasonography
If your pet requires an ultrasound of its abdomen or cardiovascular system, we can call in a veterinary ultrasound specialist to perform the exam. The procedure is done in our clinic by an ultrasound technologist. Ultrasound is a non-invasive way to see what is happening within an organ. It allows us to visualize the structural architecture of organs to help diagnose illnesses. We can sometimes take ultrasound guided tissue samples for pathological review.

Electrocardiogram
We do both in-house ECG and specialist ECG. The specialist ECG is transmitted via phone line to Cardiologists. It is then interpreted and comments regarding the nature of the problem, probable causes, and potential treatments are received.

We have a wide selection of veterinary pet foods and treats for both cats and dogs that can help your pet live a long and happy life. From adult maintenance diets to specially formulated diets, such as hypoallergenic and kidney formulations, we have the diet that will suit your pet.

Weight Counselling and Nutrition
There are many specialized diets available to meet the needs of your pet, including those which can enable your pet to reach and maintain their optimum healthy weight. MediCal and Purina Veterinary Diets incorporate the most recent research in their diets to help pets feel more satisfied while losing weight. Our staff will happily arrange a consultation to discuss a diet plan for your pet.

Animal Behaviour Consultations
An increasing number of products and training programs are available to help minimize or eliminate inappropriate behaviours in pets. Please feel free to consult with our staff should you have any questions or concerns regarding your pet’s behaviour.

Microchipping
Microchipping has become a popular method of identification for your pet, it is an easy procedure and much more simple to track than a tattoo. At the clinic you can choose to have microchipping done when your pet is in for their spay or neuter, but the microchip can be inserted at any time. The implantation procedure is no more painful than a vaccination and is usually done in the exam room. The microchip is implanted under the skin usually between the shoulder blades.

Senior Wellness Programs
A senior pet is classified as a pet older than 7 years of age, and may have special nutritional and medical requirements. During a senior pet consultation, special diets designed to help the kidney and liver and maximize lifespan may be recommended, as well as blood work to establish if any concerns should be proactively addressed. The early detection of problems can improve the outcome for your pet.

Mobile Euthanasia Visits
Mobile visits can sometimes be arranged for our long term patients if you believe that your pet and your family will be more comfortable at your own home during the time of your pet’s euthanasia. An appointment can usually be arranged by calling the clinic, although it is dependent on scheduling and staff availability. However, we will do our best, and if the euthanasia ends up needing to be done at the clinic, we will ensure this process is as gentle and compassionate as possible for both you and your pet.

New Pet Counselling
When you are introducing a new pet into your home there is a lot of information to be shared with you. This includes recommendation on diet, vaccination requirements, behavioural counseling and preventative medicine etc. Our team will spend the necessary time with you to ensure that everything gets off to a good start.

Ambulatory Service
We provide on farm care for horses within the Cowichan Valley. This ranges from emergency care, medical treatments, lameness examination, preventative care and reproductive management.

Preventative Care
Preventative care for your horse starts with good nutrition and health management. We can assist you with developing your feeding plan and provide advice which will help keep your horse healthy. We recommend annual visits for dentistry and vaccinations tailored to each individual equine patient. A deworming program starts with regular fecal examination for parasite eggs.

Equine Dentistry
Horses’ condition and comfort can be greatly affected by the state of their teeth. Annual examination and routine dental care will help your horse to be comfortable while eating and being ridden. Our veterinarians use a power float to safely and efficiently reduce sharp enamel points.

Lameness Examination
This will start with a physical examination and viewing your horse while moving at the walk, trot and while being lunged. Flexion tests and nerve blocks may be required. If needed, we have digital xray that will allow us to investigate further. Prepurchase examinations are suggested before buying a horse – this may save a lot of heartache, stress and money.

Reproductive Management
Breeding mare with fresh cooled semen is a common way of getting your mare pregnant. We have had a lot of experience with this and can provide advice and assess your mare prebreeding.
We will use ultrasound to examine your mare as well as cytology and perhaps bacterial culture.
Pregnancy exam is done at 14-17 days post insemination.

Reproductive management
We use portable ultrasound machines to assess reproductive status of your livestock, from post partum to pregnancy diagnosis. Vaccination and nutritional consultation can make a big impact of reproductive success.

Embryo Transfer
We have been providing embryo transfer services for over 30 years, since the technology first became common. Cows with superior genetics are given medications to induce them to ovulate many embryos instead of one. These are collected 7 days later and either transferred to recipients or frozen to either be used later or sold – often around the world. This allows farmers to much more quickly improve their herd genetics and to increase their sales of livestock.